Performance metrics will impact snowfighting: a perspective

Richard L. Hanneman
Salt Institute
Salt and Highway Deicing newsletter
Summer 2007
Operating public highways has become more "customer-driven" and customers, the driving public and individuals, businesses and industries that rely on highways to deliver people and goods, are demanding better service. Progressive managers have responded by developing performance measures to unlock the benefits of the massive investment in this public infrastructure. Traffic speed and elapsed travel time are two of the outcomes measures used to judge system performance. Consumers, however, value system reliability even more than shorter travel times. Thus, the familiar, recurring "rush hour" congestion is more tolerable than the uncertainty of such "non-recurring" events as snowstorms, work zones and traffic incidents. Collecting the right data is an emerging challenge -- and an emerging expectation.